NV-0X: Oceguera Is In. And So Is Titus!

Wow. We don't even have redrawn districts yet, and we're already getting US House candidates pop up for next year!

Nevada Democratic Assembly Speaker John Oceguera is officially launching his bid for Congress.

Oceguera is termed out from seeking re-election in the state Assembly, and his announcement Monday was widely anticipated.

What remains unknown is which district he'll run in.

Nevada gains a fourth U.S. House seat in next year's election, but the boundaries have yet to be drawn.

No really, he's in.

In Nevada, we have a strong sense of hard work, independence, and community —working together to find common sense solutions, to move Nevada forward. Whether it’s balancing the budget, enacting meaningful education reform, or fighting to create jobs, Nevadans have the resolve to stand up for the middle-class in tough times.

Sadly, the same cannot be said for Washington, DC.

As Washington politicians try to take away seniors’ hard-earned right to Medicare — some even calling Social Security a “Pyramid Scheme” – and instead give special tax breaks to oil companies and insurance companies, I’ll fight for what’s right. I’ll fight to protect Medicare, create jobs, and get our economy back on track.

I’m running for Congress because we need people who’ll stand up to Washington and get results, not be part of the problem. I took on the special interests in Carson City, working across party lines to balance the budget and enact meaningful education reform. I’ll be just as tough on Washington.

And he may not be the only one... Ralston is hinting (and I spoke with someone earlier who's confirming!) that Dina Titus will make her campaign official this week as well.

And already, there are rumors of even more Democrats chomping at the bit to run. Ruben Kihuen, John Lee, and others are rumored to be considering running. It all depends on what the final map looks like.

And speaking of the map, I'm reminded of this map I drew back in May. If the court agrees to a map like this, Steven Horsford and Ruben Kihuen would have to fight over the minority heavy and strongly Democratic 1st District, while Dina Titus and John Oceguera would have to fight over who would take on Joe Heck in the slightly Democratic leaning 3rd District, and the 4th District would be awaiting someone up to the challenge of a tough tossup seat. (Would John Lee be up to moving to Summerlin or Centennial Hills?)

I guess we didn't have to wait all that long for the 2012 Congressional campaigns to start up and heat up. We don't even have a map yet, and the campaigns are jumping on board! Fasten your seat belts, Nevadans. We'll be in for a wild ride.

UPDATE (4:25 PM): Dina Titus is announcing her resignation from the US Civil Rights Commission... And she pretty much admitted to The R-J that she will be running for Congress again. The heat is ON!